The Guide and the High Judge
by Satus
Summary: The two Harbingers of Death. One brings them through the stormy road, one guides them on the journey they are then forced to take. It's a delicate system, really.


_(Goodness me, I'm terrible at summeries.)_

_Shikieiki and Komachi. The two Harbingers of Death. One brings, one judges._

_I've always thought they might have had a pretty bitter-sweet past, for whatever reason. So I was just randomly writing a different fic (anyone wanna see an AU Tales of Symphonia fic?), when this idea suddenly came into my head. Three hours later, it was written, editied and now it's uploaded, since I was actually pretty proud of it, even though I can't seem to write very well. Aahahaha._

_I wrote this very late at night, so I'm sorry for any mistakes I may have done; hopefully they're far and between..._

_But yeah. I hope you'll enjoy this, for all who's reading it._

* * *

_"Hey, Shiki…"_

_ The green-haired child turned to her friend curiously as they sat on the riverbank, dipping their bare feet into the refreshing coolness of the water that flowed along slowly. The heat had been unbearable, to the point of causing people's hair and even clothes to uncomfortably stick to their skin; so once more, the two had escaped from the adults and gone to somewhere more bearable together and thrown off most of the heavy clothing they wore, discarding it to the ground._

_ "What is it, Komachi?" Shikieiki asked her younger friend, who didn't meet her gaze, even averting it. She instead continued flailing her legs and sending water everywhere, to the older of the two's dismay. The redhead's face was surprisingly sullen for her, causing a little bit of worry for her to swell up in her chest._

_ The redhead seemed to shrink as time went on and Shikieiki waited. "Well, um…" She started, only to falter a few seconds later. She started up again, this time finally looking her friend in the eyes. "We- I know this is a selfish thing to ask, but, um…" She paused, her face falling slightly, the words stuck in her throat. Shikieiki silently urged her to continue, placing a hand on hers to give her some form of support. Komachi flashed a quick smile. "Even though you're a part of a big family and all and have this big thing to grow up to become and all…" She flushed a little, a sheepish smile taking its place on her face. "Will you still be my friend? Forever and ever?"_

_ Shikieiki paused. Then released a breath she hadn't released she was holding, a relieved smile bursting through. She had sincerely thought that Komachi was going to say she was moving away or something, and had to leave her all alone. "Of course I will be. What made you think I won't?"_

_ The redhead glanced back, having averted her gaze the moment she had asked. She looked like she didn't know how to react, like she had honestly – from the bottom of her heart - been expecting the older girl to refuse. "Really?"_

_ Shikieiki nodded. "Really."_

_ "Forever and ever? That's a long time, you know!"_

_ She couldn't help but laugh this time. "Of course I will. Forever."_

_ Her laughter was contagious. Soon Komachi was joining in as well, and it didn't take long for the two friends to fall over themselves laughing loudly, their voices being carried by the wind. They didn't even know what they were laughing at anymore. All they knew was that they were together, they would be, and that was enough for them._

~:~

Shikieiki Yamaxandu stared down at the person standing before her, unable to express her disappointment of her. She stood, a careless aura around her, as though she couldn't care and simply wanted to depart already, not even worrying about manners despite standing in front of the current Yama. Her red hair was as red as ever; if slightly pink from when she had last seen her. She had certainly not changed much at first glance, other than maturing more into a beautiful young woman with startling red yet bright and adult eyes. Still, of course she had grown. The Yama herself had, so why shouldn't she have?

With an exasperated sigh, she looked down to her papers that listed the crimes the girl had committed during her lifetime. Normally, she did this with cold professionalism, but this time she couldn't help but reflect how she was feeling on her face as she read through the vast list.

"Komachi Onozuka; stolen a total of 59 items during her lifetime," Shikieiki read out loud and grabbed the girl's attention, her usual dominating voice actually quivering as she inspected the girl, but her true feelings were otherwise well-kept. "Harmed a total of 41 humans, youkai and others during her lifetime, graffiti," She stopped reading out the figures; she had always been a good girl, if enthusiastic. Seeing these numbers, even though they were fact and facts were undeniable, hurt her. "Vandalism, trespassing," Shikieiki paused with a small gasp of horror. "_Murder_…?"

Komachi said nothing, still looking to the side as the two guards that had brought her stood by her sides and kept her bound. She was frowning; having been brought from the Sanzu no Kawa, she had left all her human memories behind. She didn't know she had committed all these crimes. Shikieiki retained hers. She had a look on her face that was clearly asking why the Yama was taking her particular case so seriously.

Shikieiki hesitated, trying to compose herself. She tried to think up of a lecture; a path she could go, to follow her habits or people would suspect she was letting her emotions get ahead of her and take control. That wouldn't do. So she took a deep, barely noticeable breath and spoke.

"You-" She shouted at the top of her voice, causing the few people present to wince slightly. "You thought you would get away with your crimes without punishment, didn't you?"

Komachi still said nothing. She didn't even nod or shake her head.

This only seemed to infuriate the Yama more. A couple of people back off as so not to feel her enraged wrath. "You thought you could sin all you wanted, and then simply escape?" She screeched, leaping up off her seat and pointing her rod at directly at her. "Well, _nope_! Your punishment is-!"

'_You'll be my friend forever and ever, won't you?'_

_ 'Of course I will be!'_

It echoed. Bounced around in her mind, and refused to leave once it wriggled its way through. She couldn't help it. She mentally cursed herself for being weak. This was one of the worst cases she had had to deal with for a long time, and yet she couldn't do it. Forced to leave everyone else to their own consequences. She couldn't help others even if she wanted to, no matter how much she wanted to reach out and offer them all a second chance at life. She was a weak individual, and yet she held all the power in the world. A dangerous combination.

She sat herself back down, knowing how much she was shaking and how much she was conflicted. Even she couldn't banish her friend to the depths and leave her all alone, abandoning their childhood promise to stay together forever. She could still try to help, couldn't she? Even if she still held no memory, she could still try, couldn't she?

Too weak. That was all she was. And yet that weakness seemed to be over bearing her. It engulfed her. And within that weakness, something else shone. Something she'd left behind for a long time that she and Komachi had kept together.

A shaky hand pointed at the redhead, her rod held to her chest. "You will become the new ferry guide for the souls across the Sanzu no Kawa. You will become a shinigami, never to forget your sins and never to forget the feeling of living despite your death. That way, you will forever be reprimanding and will never atone. You stole your own precious life, which everyone wishes for more, and yet you stole your own one; now you will regret it. This is my judgement." Her voice, quiet, barely audible and yet still dominant reverberated through the hall. There was silence after her sentence. "Begin."

Something flashed through Komachi's eyes; fear. This wasn't the end she wanted. She would stay living. She didn't want to. She wanted to pass on, and yet her judgment had dictated that she wouldn't be able to. Her eyes silently begged Shikieiki to re-examine her, to deem her worthy of dying. And yet, when she got up and told them to leave and bring the next soul in she had replied and said no. Then she was taken away to prepare, her shouts and screams of protest still echoing long after she had departed.

The Yama. An unsuitable title and one she would live with. One she never wanted. Perhaps, had she not been the heir, she wouldn't have dragged Komachi down with her. As the next soul was brought in, Shikieiki sat herself back down and composed herself.

_'But, Komachi, I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep that promise down the line…"_

* * *

_Aaaand there we have it. Remember, reveiws and critisism (constructive, preferablely) makes me a happy bunny. Please do remember to leave one as you depart! After all, you've already read all of this, haven't you?_

_... You have, right?_

_I don't know if Shikieiki and Komachi have ever had anything like this mentioned, but even so, it's just my personal thoughts. Flames will keep me nice and warm at night._

_Shikieiki... well, I'm not sure how one would become the Yama. Therefore I just assumed you're born into a family, to which the current person who's living will take over when the current Yama retires. I dunno, that's all I thought of. __I also tried to make it seem like friendship was a weakness. I'm not sure if I portrayed it correctly, but here's hoping..._

_Well then. Until we meet for another story, and I hope you enjoyed this little piece I wrote!_


End file.
